Melrose Fire Department looks to expand ambulance service

Thursday

Apr 11, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 11, 2013 at 11:14 AM

The Fire Department is one step closer to offering Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to the city. On April 1, Melrose firefighters announced on their Facebook page that the department received a license from the state to offer paramedic-level ambulance services.

Jessica Sacco/ jsacco@wickedlocal.com

The Fire Department is one step closer to offering Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to the city.

On April 1, Melrose firefighters announced on their Facebook page that the department received a license from the state to offer paramedic-level ambulance services.

“…This is the most advanced pre-hospital care license an ambulance service can obtain, allowing us to provide the highest level of care to the residents and visitors of Melrose,” the Facebook post said.

Mayor Rob Dolan said the goal is for half the department’s firefighters to be trained and licensed as paramedics — making them qualified to operate the ALS ambulances — by fiscal 2014. Then, by fiscal 2015, he hopes to have the entire department licensed as paramedics.

“We’re evolving from a fire department to an emergency response department,” he said. “Every one of our firefighters is going to be highly educated, paramedic-certified, which is something we’ve never had before.”

Fire Chief Chris Leary said the move to ALS is still in the early stages and there are many more hurdles to overcome before the department can expand its ambulance service.

“We’re currently in the process of transitioning to ALS, but it’s a process,” he said. “We’ve been transitioning now for six months or more. Nothing has really changed. This is just one more step in a bunch of steps [toward] where we want to be.”

The fire department still needs to obtain a drug license from the state and finalize negotiations with the firefighters’ union to complete the upgrade to ALS, according to Lt. Dan White, president of the Local 1617 firefighters’ union.

White said about 90 percent of the department’s firefighters are already trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) for Basic Life Support (BLS) services, and eight firefighters are also paramedic-certified. Three men are currently taking a paramedic training course through the city.

“The number of paramedics is going to be constantly going up,” said White. “The city wants the whole department to be paramedic trained.”

The Fire Department took over BLS ambulance services — which requires firefighters to be trained as EMTs — in May 2011.

Since then, city officials have been planning to progress the department to ALS services as well.

Cataldo Ambulance Service Inc. is currently contracted to provide ALS ambulance service in Melrose. Dolan said when the fire department moves to ALS, the city will still have Cataldo as an emergency backup.

A need for ALS

In an effort to better staff the department, former Fire Chief John O’Brien applied for a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (S.A.F.E.R.) grant in 2010 to hire four additional firefighters.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded Melrose the full grant amount — $433,500, which required a five-year commitment from the city to retain the firefighters hired through the additional funding.

Dolan explained that in order to cover the cost of the additional firefighters, the city must make a profit from BLS and ALS.

The mayor said Melrose is on its way to covering all direct and indirect costs for the BLS ambulance service that’s currently provided by the city.

“We’re not only covering costs, but we’re making a small profit,” he said. “We’ve done it for two years and we’ve done it well [but] if we don’t get to ALS, we’re not going to be successful.”

Negotiations with the union

After the department took on BLS ambulance services, all members of Local 1617 signed a three-year contract that gave them a 1 percent raise for each year of the agreement.

White told the Free Press this week that the union is currently in negotiations with the city. He expects an additional pay increase will be offered to firefighters trained as paramedics.

“We feel that it’s another higher level of learning,” White said. “Therefore, the men should be paid accordingly.”

He added that members of the union researched paramedics’ pay scales in other cities and towns to see what they earn compared to EMTs and firefighters.

“We just want a fair plan that brings us in line with cities and towns roughly our size and population,” White said.